Slip on a pair of jammies, cozy up in your bunk and learn all about massive turret-mounted 16-inch guns. Sounds like an average sleepover to us.
The tireless oddity explorers at Atlas Obscura are hosting A Night on the Battleship, an evening tour and sleepover on the USS Iowa. The overnight excursion, the first of its kind for civilians aboard the San Pedro-moored ship, takes place on April 1. A limited number of tickets are on sale now for $125.
The USS Iowa was the first ship of its kind when it was commissioned in 1943, and the last American battleship to see warfare. She carried FDR across the Atlantic Ocean during WWII, and nearly 60 years later the USS Iowa found herself docked in San Pedro as a museum. On regular days, history buffs can embark on a self-guided tour of the battleship. But the special Atlas Obscura event includes access to some areas typically not open to tour groups.
The tour of the dockside ship begins with a walk through the staterooms, command centers and the main galley, and an early dinner in the mess hall. After a night's rest in the ship's quarters, you'll wake up to a traditional reveille (think a bugle, siren or drum beat) followed by a hot breakfast and a Q&A with veterans, some of whom served aboard the vessel.
A couple of housekeeping notes: Attendees must be older than 16, mattresses are single occupancy and somewhat short, you can't leave after lights out and, just to be clear, the ship doesn't leave the dock. By far our favorite rule, though: "Sorry, no hanky-panky allowed."
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